


Rocky-Road

by nuclear_werewolf



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Drunk Shenanigans, Feelings, Gay, I just think hes neat, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Outer Space, Self-Esteem Issues, You Decide, but i guess he's still a raccoon, he's more like cybernetically enhanced, he's not really anthromorphic, i'll fix these tags later, is it furry?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:21:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28887549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nuclear_werewolf/pseuds/nuclear_werewolf
Summary: Deep in the keystone quadrant of space floats a dead ship that's emitting a distress signal. When the nearby Guardians of the galaxy answer the call for help, all they find is a corpse. Quill brings the dead body aboard, and he suddenly springs to life and is in need of the Guardian's help. Now with a deranged doctor on their tail, the Guardians are going to have to once again risk their necks for the good of the galaxy.Updates every Monday!
Relationships: Rocket Raccoon/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, there.  
> General Ken-
> 
> Hey~ If you're reading this, you've either clicked on this story by accident, or you're interested in what I've written.  
> If it's the latter, Welcome! I ask that you bear with me, as this is my first story I've ever posted. If you spot any grammatical errors, OR if you just wanna tell me my story sucks, leave a comment!
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!

The Benatar flew through space at unnerving speeds. The guardians were on their way to a commission and they needed to step on it to make it in time. If the Guardians kept their current speed, they would surely make it in time. The ship's mechanic and co-pilot, Rocket heard a beeping sound and looked at his screen to see that a distress beacon had popped up. "Aye, Quill. We got a distress signal here." He said. "What's it say?" The star-lord asked.

"Nothing, just a beacon." The captain thought a moment. "Alright, let's see if we can help," Quill said as Rocket changed course. "I am Groot." The talking plant-teen said. "Hey, I know, but we aren't just gonna leave someone out on their own. Besides, they may be rich." Groot rolled his eyes. The tree was right though, Rocket thought, if we're going to make it in time, this would have to be quick. Gamora entered the flight deck, curious as to why there was a sudden shift in course.

"What's going on?" She took her seat at the flight deck. "We got a distress beacon not too far from here we're gonna check it out," Quill responded. Gamora only nodded in response. The Benatar finally came upon a small ship, dead in space. It wasn't very large, definitely smaller than their own ship, but not small enough to be an escape pod of some sort. It wasn't a ship like Rocket had ever seen, and he had seen a lot. "I've never seen a ship like that before, have you?" Quill asked Rocket.

"Nope, let's go check it out." Quill put the Benatar in position and put on his suit. "Be back in a minute." He said specifically to Gamora, who only nodded. He left the Benatar and flew over to the dead ship, looking for an entrance. He found it and hopped inside. "What do you see Quill?" Gamora asked over comms. "It's dark, I think the ship's power is out." He responded. A moment of silence passed.

"Guys, I found someone. He's human, late teens early twenties." Quill said. "He's unconscious, I'm bringing him in." Quill returned with the unconscious male and they laid him in the medbay. "What if he's not human?" Drax asked. "He could be some sort of shapeshifter." Quill nodded. "Yeah, he looks kind of weird. Something's off about him." Mantis put a hand on his head. "Oh... He's dead." It was true, he hadn't breathed since he was brought aboard.

There was an uncomfortable silence. "Well, that was a waste of time." Rocket said. Everyone but Quill and Gamora dispersed. "Well, I guess we should-" Quill began to say but stopped short when he saw the apparently no longer dead guy's eyes shoot open. "What...?" The now-reanimated stranger bolted upright and assumed a defensive position. "Hey, let's just calm down, now." Quill reached for his gun. Seeing this only put the stranger on edge, and he eyed the door.

"Don't do it!" Gamora shouted, but to no avail, as the stranger leaped out of the medbay and into the hall. He then ran into quill's room and hit the lock button. "What the hell's goin' on in here!?" Rocket asked, rounding the corner into the medbay. Quill rubbed his neck and attempted to unlock his door, with no success. "Our dead friend isn't so dead anymore." Rocket laughed. "Great going Mantis." She shook her head furiously.

"No! He was dead. I'm sure of it." She said, attempting to defend herself. Quill tried the door lock again. No success. "Well, I guess we got a zombie problem on our hands," Quill said. Rocket snorted. "What's a zombie?" Quill ignored him and Drax spoke up. "I say we cut down the door." Quill looked at him Incredulously. "Um, that's my door. Go hack up your own." Groot too spoke up. "I am Groot." Rocket laughed lamely.

"Yeah, sure, buddy. Just how exactly do you plan on speaking to him? Chances are he don't speak Groot." He said. Quill looked at him quizically. "He says that we should cut a hole in the door and let him talk to him." Quill began to protest. "Hey! No! Once again, that is my door. No way." Rocket rolled his eyes. "Duh, genius, he couldn't talk to him anyways dumbass," Groot spoke up again. "I am Groot." He said. "No. Not happening. I'm not going in there."

Groot then ran off down to the cockpit. Gamora shrugged. "It's not a bad idea." Rocket bared his teeth. "No, no way. You're just doing this to get to me, you broad!" Quill snapped at him. "Hey, don't call her that!" Gamora rolled her eyes. "I am Groot!" The tree creature said as he ran back into the hall with a laser saw. "No! No way, Groot. I'm not talking to him."

Meanwhile, inside Quill's quarters

I felt myself visibly sweating as the saw in the door completed a hole. It looked large enough to put a basketball through. I wondered what a basketball was. After a considerable amount of swearing a small furry creature was shoved through the hole. When he had regained his composure he quickly drew a small knife from his side. Seeing the small animal with a small knife was almost amusing to you. "You speak English?" He asked. Hearing him speak was surprising.

My brain told me it shouldn't have been able to talk, but I had no memory to back up that claim. "Y-Yeah," I said meekly. He scoffed and lowered the knife an inch or so. "If you're gonna be a problem, just know I'm more of a match than anything you've encountered out there." I doubted that. He returned the dagger to its sheath. "Where am I?" I asked. "Nuh, uh. You first, why'd you run?" He asked.

"Well, I awoke to find myself in a strange room, seeing a strange couple of people bickering nearby, so I only did what any sane person would do. I ran." He shrugged. "I guess that makes sense," He said. "You're on the Benatar, my ship." He was cut off by a voice coming from the hallway. "My ship!" The small animal rolled his eyes. "What are you?" I asked. He physically tensed. "What's it to you, prick?" I shrugged. "Just curious. I've never seen another one of you before."

He smirked. "That's 'cause I'm one of a kind." I raised a brow. "The only one? Is your species extinct?" He dropped the smirk. "Well, technically I'm a raccoon, and there's plenty of those, but I'm the only one that can talk. Now you, where are you from, and why were you in a dead ship in the middle of space?" I shifted on my feet. "I, uh-" he cut me off. "And what're you wearing? You look stupid." I looked down at my clothes.

Solid white pants and a solid white shirt. "I didn't exactly have time to change, not that I had anything to change into. I'm kinda on the run. There's a man after me." The raccoon perked up. "Oh? And is this 'man' rich?" I thought a moment. "Well, yes. I suppose-" I stopped short. I didn't know who these people are, and chances are they'll turn me in the first chance they get. It was too late though because the raccoon already had a smile on his face.

Neither of us spoke for a moment before he burst out laughing. "I'm just messin' with ya. You should see the look on your face." He said, still laughing. "Anyways, I'm gonna need you to come out of the room now. Or we'll have to remove you by force." I made no effort to respond. The raccoon rolled his eyes and pulled out his dagger. I instinctively backed against the wall. "Hey, relax." He flipped the dagger in his hand and held it out for you.

"If any of us try anything you can just stab away. Not that you'll be able to actually get a hit on any of us." I hesitantly took the blade and weighed it in my hand. It was a bit light but it felt insanely sharp. "Ok. I'll come out." He hit the unlock button and the door slid open. "'Bout time." The human said. I assumed it was his room, and by extension, his door that they had cut into. I followed the raccoon back into the medbay and returned to the bed I had awoken on.

The weird-looking alien with the antennae approached me cautiously and picked up a screen that was linked to my vitals. After a moment of furious typing and swiping she gasped. "I knew it!" She exclaimed. "What is it?" The one with green skin asked. "Look! He was dead!" The green-skinned Alien grabbed the screen and examined the results. She then looked up at me with a serious expression. "How is that possible?"

I felt my throat begin to close. I knew what I had, and I knew It was extremely valuable. On top of that, I had no way of knowing if I could trust my saviors. For all I knew, they'd try to sell me off the highest bidder. I tightened my grip on the dagger, not really knowing what I would do if I decided to use it. I had no combat experience and any one of them could probably take me down without much of a fuss. Probably even the short, furry one.

The green-skinned one must've noticed this because she returned the screen to the table and backed off. "Nevermind, we'll find out more later, how are you feeling? Your vitals appear normal." I shrugged. I had come to realize this motion as a form of disinterest or uncertainty, as my body did it on its own at times. "Well, do you wanna tell us how you ended up on that ship?" I gulped. I knew I only had one option.

They wanted answers, and I had a feeling things would turn sour real quick if I just straight up deflected and ignored their questions. However, I couldn't tell them everything, so half-truths would have to do. "I'm on the run. I don't know who from, he only ever referred to himself as my doctor." As I talked I became aware of just how many people were in the room and in the hall. "He wants something from me, I don't know what it is, but he won't stop 'till he has me."

It wasn't a lie, I really didn't know whatever it is he put in me. But I did know what it would mean if people started to hear of the unkillable man. "He had me for a while, but I managed to escape in that ship, and it died. It must've run out of oxygen because I passed out and woke up here." This time, the human spoke up. "Yeah, about that, you were dead in that ship. Like, dead, dead. Mantis here confirms it." He said referring to the alien with the antennae.

The green-skinned alien gave him a not-so-subtle look and he backed away. "Nevermind..." There was an awkward silence as they all processed this information and decided what to do with me. "Well... Is there somewhere you can go? Where'd you live before being kidnapped by this doctor guy?" The human spoke up. "About that... I sort of don't have any memories prior to waking up at my captor's lab. I think he wiped them somehow."

The Human--I should really find out their names--sighed and rubbed his temples. "We could drop him off at Knowhere?" He finally offered. "Uh, no. They'd eat him alive." The green-skinned alien countered. "What about Xandar?" The human groaned and shook his head. "Those tools? No thanks. What about Terra?" The raccoon began to protest. "No way! They're practically primitive there!" He said disdainfully.

"Well, then it's a good thing that we're only dropping him off then. There's less chance of this 'doctor' guy finding him there. Plus, if he's a real problem, the Avengers will take care of him. I think this is the best course of action, Rocket," The human said. 'Rocket' groaned and muttered something about filthy Terrans as he left the medbay. The green-skinned alien spoke up again. "Alright then, everyone. Terra it is."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, you've come back for more.
> 
> I'm thrilled~
> 
> P.s.
> 
> Seb is short for Sebastian, which I thought would be close enough to Subject.
> 
> No I do not take criticism.
> 
> Not without crying.

The next few hours were that of getting to know the members of the crew. I told them my name, Subject 37, which they agreed to shorten to Seb. After that everyone filed off to their own respective parts of the ship. I was only allowed to walk the ship if I was accompanied, so I was stuck with Drax. I asked him to take me to Rocket, as he was the only one I felt I could sort of trust. "Hey, Rocket," I said as I entered the ship's engine room. Rocket was tinkering away on some sort of gadget that would probably blow up if handled incorrectly.

"The fuck do you want?" He asked, probably rhetorically. Before I could respond Drax turned to leave. "Goodbye, Rocket. I'm leaving the Terran in your care." Rocket dropped what he was holding and threw up his arms. "Wait, don't leave that thing here!" He yelled after Drax. It took me a moment to register that I was the thing he didn't want to be left behind. Once Drax was gone, he groaned and returned to his work with a pouty expression on his face.

I stood there awkwardly for a moment before deciding to take a chair across the worktable Rocket was sitting at. "Don't you fuckin' bother me, this could kill us both if I'm not careful." He said maliciously. "What is it?" I asked, completely ignoring his previous words. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "It's a bomb. A pretty fuckin' bad one." He said, not taking his eyes off of the bomb. "So you make bombs? What else do you do?" I asked attentively.

"What's it to you?" He asked, his eyes narrow. "I'm just curious. I'll tell you something about me if you do, does that sound fair?" He chuckled. "Yeah, nice try, but you don't exactly have any memories to base that off of, right?" Shit, I thought, He's got me there. "Okay then, we can just sit here in awkward silence," I say before slumping back in my chair. As we sat there in silence for a few moments, I couldn't help but feel as if my plan had backfired.

However, Rocket then dropped the bomb and sighed loudly. "I kill people! I steal things! And I'm a damn good pilot. Happy?" He said, exasperated. I nodded. "Now what about you?" He asked. "I don't have anything, remember?" I said. He chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, no, you've got something. What happened with the doctor?" I tensed. I wasn't exactly ready to tell anyone about what happened there. "I don't wanna talk about that."

He sat up at full attention. "Oh, now I gotta know. Tell me!"I shook my head. "No, Rocket. I'm not saying anything about what happened there." This only seemed to make him want to know more. "C'mon, it couldn't have been bad, could it?" I sat there, unable to find anything to say. Finally, he sighed and slumped back in his chair. "Whatever, man." Now I felt bad. "I can't die." He perked up again. 

"It's what the doctor wants from me. The secret to immortality is in my blood, and he wants it bad." He sneered. "I'd rather you just didn't tell me instead of lying, you dick." I began to protest. "I'm telling the truth!" He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? Prove it." He removed the knife from earlier and tossed it to my side of the table. "Kill yourself. Or, I guess don't?" He said humorously. "Fine," I said, holding up my hand to face him.

I put the knife in cutting position, but before I could cut, Quill cut in over the P.A. "Everyone to the cockpit, now." I handed Rocket his knife and he led the way to the front of the ship. "We've got a transmission from some guy who claims we got somethin' of his. I'm thinking it's this doctor guy." He pressed play on the transmission. "Greetings, fools. I'll keep this short, I'm a very busy man." Rocket snorted, amused. I, however, was terrified.

This was the one voice I loathed hearing. This was the voice of the man who had tortured me for three months. "You have something of mine, you know what it is, and I want it back immediately. If the Specimen is not returned to me in twenty-four hours, I can promise you I will not stop until every one of your crew is begging for the sweet release of death. However, if it is returned to me within the time frame I promise you a reward of ten million units. Coordinates are attached. Transmission end."

No one said anything for a moment. Quill was the first to break the silence. "Pfft, what a joke. 'You have twenty-four hours.' And can you believe the whole 'Transmission end'? You don't have to say that, just end the damn message." It was clear he was attempting to lighten the mood, but it was obvious they were all conflicted. Ten million units to deliver a helpless, weak creature not even half an hour's flight away? Sounds like a dream come true.

At least, that's what I thought. Ten million units sounded like a lot, but for all I knew, it could've been worth practically nothing. But I knew better. I was his piece de resistance. His masterpiece. Immortality. "Where do the coordinates lead?" Gamora asked, earning her a look of disgust from Mantis. "Don't look at me like that, I just want to find out who this clown is." She quickly added. "They lead to a space station outside of some dead planet called Chronyca-2. Looking at this thing, it's close to the size of the Sanctuary II." Quill relayed.

"So how bad would it truly be if we did hand him over?" Rocket asked, making me pale. He wasn't really going to send me back, was he? He began to laugh. "I'm just messin' with ya! You should see the look on your face! You're all like 'Oh shit! They're gonna turn me over!'" Hearing him laugh hysterically, I couldn't help but feel my face flush red. It wasn't fun having your life toyed with like that. I couldn't tell whether or not he wasn't completely kidding, which wasn't reassuring.

"Yeah, don't worry, kid, we won't hand you over to that loser." Quill said, once again attempting to lighten the mood. It didn't work. "And besides, we've faced far greater threats than whoever this asshole is." Gamora added. I sighed and nodded. "Thanks guys." I said, still not feeling too confident. "So... What exactly do you have that he wants?" Quill asked again. I gulped and felt a lump forming in my throat. They're already risking their lives for me, I thought, I might as well tell them what they're risking it for.

"Quill!" Gamora hissed. "No, Gamora, it's fine. I'll tell you." The room was dead silent now. I paused for dramatic effect. "So, I woke up in his lab. No memory of before that. Complete amnesia. Anyways, he says to me that I'm his newest research project. That I'm the only one who has successfully survived his experiments." Not a whole lie, but not a whole truth, either. "He then puts me through many tests. Most of which are more gorey than I'd like to recall."

"What was the experiments? And the tests?" Quill asked. "I'm getting to that. The experiments and tests he put me through were to test whether or not he had achieved immortality." I held a pause to let that sink in. "Immortality? Seriously?" Quill said. Gamora looked at him, annoyed. "If you recall you brought a dead corpse onto this ship, confirmed by three sources, including yourself. It makes sense, Quill. I mean, we've seen weirder things."

"Yeah, but immortality? Seriously?" He game me an unbelieving look. "Mabye we should resume what we were doing earlier, Seb?" Rocket said, holding his knife from earlier. Everyone was looking at me expectantly. "I suppose I don't really have a choice." I said, taking the blade. I held up my hand for everyone to see and made a long deep cut along my palm. I winced, I may heal instantaneously, but there's still the initial pain.

I didn't have to see the wound to know that it was healed in a matter of seconds. The crew all had disbelieving faces. "Well, then. I suppose that's cleared up." I said handing Rocket his knife back. "Not really," Quill said. "Yeah, you can heal, but can you come back from dying?" I shrugged. "I don't know if it's permanent, or I've only got a limited number of 'not dying' so I'm gonna have to pass on proving it to you." 

"Aw really? I kinda wanna shoot ya." Rocket said, hopefully he was kidding. "I am Groot." Groot said. "That's a good point Groot, come on." Rocket said as he turned to leave, the tree-thing in tow. "Alright everyone, there's a good chance this guy's got someone on their way to come collect Seb, here, so we're flying through the night. That means shifts. Including you rocket!" He said as the raccoon faded from view.

That 'night' I woke from a deep sleep in a puddle of sweat. Despite being in the cargo bay--which was the coldest place in the whole ship--I had managed to become incredibly hot. The fact that I slept in pants and a long sleeve shirt didn't help. I left the cargo bay to find rocket piloting the ship. And by piloting I assumed he had the ship in some sort of auto pilot and was just there to make sure we didn't crash or anything. He looked bored as hell.

"It's your turn, huh?" I said sitting down in Quill's seat. "What are you doin' up?" He asked. "Don't need to sleep either, huh?" He said, a twinge of humor laced in his voice. "Ha ha." I said dryly. We sat in silence for a moment. I wondered whether or not I'd get shot for this. "So... I imagine you get this a lot but-" Rocket cut me off. "You wanna know why I'm a raccoon." I nodded slowly. "Is that an okay thing to ask?" He chuckled. "No, idiot, it's not."

No one said anything for a moment. "So why are you?" He groaned, obviously annoyed with my pestering. "It's none of your damn business." He said in a malicious voice. "Sorry." I stared at the floor in shame. That's obviously something really personal and I went ahead and asked anyways. "Out of curiousity, what exactly did that doctor do to you to make you invulnerable?" He asked, a caution in his voice.

"That's not an okay thing to ask." I attempted to joke. "Ah whatever I don't give a shit anyways." I let out a laugh. "I'm just messing with you, man. I don't know exactly what he did, all I know is that it included some weird chemical type shit and being shocked a bunch." Another half truth. Or half lie. "Yeah, whatever." Another short silence. "Oh! I've got another question. Why exactly does he need you again? Can't he just recreate his experiments?"

"Why do through all the trouble of finding you?" Rocket asked. "I'm the only one the experiment worked on. I'm the only one who came back." Not exactly true. "Back from what?" He asked. "Came back? Oh, right. Um... Back from this test chamber thing. No one else came back out." I tried. It looked like the lie held. After a bit of an uncomfortable silence, Rocket cleared his throat. "You should probably get some sleep. Might be trouble tomorrow." I nodded and stood from the seat. "Thanks Rocket."

He turned to face me. "For what?" I chuckled. "For saving me. For not turning me in. Thank you... And you know, your whole crew." I made my way back to the cargo bay before he could respond.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy~
> 
> Had this old thing lying around, so I just decided to post it now.
> 
> In fact, I'll probably post two chapters a week from now on, maybe on Monday and Thursday?
> 
> I apologize for any consistency issues, I rewrote this and I'm not sure if anything was said in a previous chapter that contradicts what is said here.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> P.S.
> 
> What's black and red and white all over?

As I pulled myself out of my 'bed' I couldn't help but feel like absolute shit. While I couldn't actually have any real damage, It still hurt like a bitch. After popping just about every bone in my back, I made my way out of the cargo bay and into the makeshift 'kitchen'. There, I saw Quill digging through a large roundish box. My mind registered this as a fridge. "Good morning?" I tried, asking more than saying.

He removed himself from the fridge holding some sort of food thing. "What is that?" I asked, gesturing to the food. "Oh, this? It's a Xandarian food bar. They taste like shit but they're healthy at least." He outwardly cringed as he opened the wrapper. "Yeah, we definitely need to restock the next time we land." He grabbed another one and held it out for me. "It's kind of all we got." I took the bar with surprising enthusiasm.

It may be because I hadn't eaten in days. "Thanks, Quill." He nodded and wandered off. I made my way to the engine room, hoping to see Rocket. Sure enough, there he was, disassembling what appeared to be a large gun. "Good morning, Rocket," I said as I took the seat across from him. "Is it? I hadn't noticed." He said sarcastically. He sounded exhausted."Have you been up all night?" I asked. He shrugged. "It's funny, we don't really have a technical night and day, cause we're in friggin' space."

Despite his sluggish movements, he took the gun apart with an almost graceful technique. It was clear he knew what he was doing. "You're really good at that," I said. "Thanks." He finally removed the last part and set it down next to the others. "Now what?" I asked. He pulled out a rag and began polishing one of the pieces. "Now, I clean it, then I put it back together. Rags around here somewhere if you wanna help." Help?

I looked around for a rag. After procuring one, I returned to my seat and reached for one of the disassembled parts. "What're you doin'?" I gestured to the rag in my hand. I'm helping?"He scowled. "I was just messin' with ya." I began cleaning the piece. "I know. But I felt useless anyway." He just scowled and returned to his cleaning. As the day went on, I gradually got Rocket to open up to me.

He wouldn't tell me anything about himself, at least nothing meaningful. Just stories about him and his fearless piloting and his ever-increasing and almost worrying collection of prosthetics. "Wait, so where is it now?" I asked. Rocket was just telling me of the time he stole someone's prosthetic eye. "I gave it to a god. He's back on Terra now, I think we might actually go by his place." He said proudly. He clearly craved attention and approval.

"Wow, that's really nice of you. What happened to his eye that made him need a prosthetic?" He rolled his eyes. "Eh, just some family drama. It was his sister, I think." Family. I had a family, once. I think. "So earlier, Quill said that if the doctor followed me to Terra, that the Avengers would help me. Who're they?" I asked. "They're some team of jack-offs who helped us beat Thanos some time back. They're pretty stuck up, and they don't even have space travel. Terrans have only gone to like, two other planets and one moon. Their own moon!" He said, almost yelling.

Hearing Rocket rant like this was amusing, to say the least. "Sounds... What's the word? Oh, yes, primitive." Rocket's eyes lit up. "I know! That's exactly what I said." He said. "You know, I think that with enough time, you'd make a great addition to our crew." I was surprised to hear this. I almost laughed. "What? Why do you say that?" I asked, bewildered. "Well, you've got that whole healing thing. Plus, you're practically a blank state, right? That means I could influence you to my own advantage."

Of course, that's what he meant. "Right..." I looked absentmindedly to the fully reassembled gun on the table in front of me. In truth, I didn't know what I would do if I had the choice. Traveling the universe with a hearty crew sounded scary yet exciting all the same. Staying on Terra would probably be the more stable option, but also sounded incredibly boring. I pushed these thoughts away, it's not as if I had any option in the first place.

"Hey, smooth-brain, you in there?" Rocket said, snapping me back to reality. "Ah, sorry. I was just thinking." He scoffed. "What? My stories not interesting enough for you?" He said with mock offense. "No, not at all." He tried to hide it, but I could see the edges of his mouth curl into a smile. "Well, focus, I wasn't done telling you about that eye..."

We spent the next few hours talking. Rocket, about his past adventures. Me, offering little bits of input, such as "Wow!", "Cool!", and "Gross!". Despite the obvious fabrications, I still enjoyed listening to him recount his previous misadventures. We did this until the end of the day. Rocket had so many interesting stories, even if half of it was all exaggerated. At least that's how it sounded, for all I knew it was all true. We said our goodbyes and I was almost out the door before he called me back.

"Wait!" He said, looking very unsure. "Yeah?" I said, turning back to him. He hesitated before he spoke. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was nervous. "I uh..." His confident facade returned. "Nothin', 'night." I nodded and trekked back to my floor mattress. I enjoyed being with rocket, he just had this sort of vibe that I could get used to.

The next morning we landed on some planet called Contraxia. "Quill this don't look like Terra." Rocket said as all three of us descended the ship's ramp. "Yeah, I know, I know. I figured that we'd go ahead and see that guy about that commission." He responded with bare enthusiasm. I sensed some hostility between the two of them. "Well, Star-Queen, don't you think we should finish the job we already have?" Rocket said as if he were speaking to a child.

Something told me that he was only protesting this because he wanted to undermine Quill. "Yeah, well, I thought since it was on the way, we kinda already said we'd meet up with him, and how often is Seb gonna get to go on space adventures while he's on earth? Practically never." Quill said, leading the group to what appeared to be a bar. "It's cold as shit, man," I said as I attempted to warm myself.

Quill gave me a raised eyebrow. "You've been around rocket too much. And we're only gonna be here for a moment, so just chill." I snorted at the irony of his last words. There was literally snow covering everything. "And! You guys didn't have to come. You can't come inside anyway." Rocket made a growling sound and turned on his heels. "You could've started with that, dick!" Quill rolled his eyes.

"Always so dramatic," Quill said with mock annoyance. "I was just jokin' about you not coming in, so feel free to join me inside," He then entered the bar. I thought about heading back to the ship, but my ever-growing curiosity of whatever job quill had going on had me intrigued. I, too, entered the bar to see Quill sitting at a table in the back across from a blue-skinned alien with large, black eyes. I approached the table and gave Quill a questioning look.

He nodded and I sat next to him at the table. "Who is this?" The alien asked. I assumed he was sizing me up, but couldn't tell due to the solid black eyes. "This? He's one of my crew." Quill said confidently. "Really? He doesn't look like much." Blue-skin said in a rather judging voice. "He's a new recruit. And I thought what better way to break him in than to invite him to his first negotiation." Quill said, deadpan. 

"Hmm, yes. Well, I'm afraid the terms have changed. The object in question is being held in a more secure location, and I've also received word of a new containment field. It won't be easy to apprehend." Blue-skin said. Quill sighed and rubbed his temples. "Okay, fine. Where's it being held now?" He asked. "I shall relay that information whilst you are on your ship, as to not attract unwanted company." Quill nodded.

"And the new containment field?" The Alien fidgeted with something in his hands. It looked to be a key. "Yes, well, It is a modified series 231 energy containment field, fully biodegradable, modified to disintegrate non-organic material. Quite effective. It can only be turned off with a remote, and will self-destruct if it is tampered with in any way." Quill ran a hand through his hair. "Do you even begin to grasp what it is you are asking me to do? I mean, come on, man!"

The Alien held up his hands and made a shushing sound. "I do realize the complications this has brought forth, but there is some good news. When the field was modified, it's biodegradability was consequentially lowered. This means that If you don't mind losing a limb, you should have plenty of time to reach in and back out with my device with plenty of time. I realize this is still a bit much, which is why I've elected to add one hundred thousand units, in addition to your previous payment."

"I'll also cover the cost of any prosthetic limb that you require after completing your mission." He finished. Quill thought a moment before looking at me. After a moment he stood. "All right, Garrus, you've got a deal." Garrus looked surprised at how confident Quill sounded. "Oh, uh, all right, I shall relay the coordinates to your ship momentarily. Good luck, Star-lord." Quill smirked as we left the bar.

"So you're just okay with losing an arm?" I asked as we briskly walked back to the Benatar. "I'll explain more on this ship." Quill had everyone briefed and, of course, questions ensued. "Wait, so, one of us has to lose an arm?" Gamora asked. "Awesome," Rocket said, not at all sarcastically. "I have a plan," Quill said. He looked me dead in the eyes. "Just how far have you tested your healing abilities?"

A thought crossed my mind and I immediately objected. "No. No way! I won't do it." Quill groaned. "Aw, come on, man! You're the only one that can do it without losing an arm!" Quill said fruitlessly. "You want him to do it? Do I need to explain how stupid that is?" Gamora said. She didn't have to phrase it like that. "I like my arm! I'm pretty sure you like yours! He can do it and keep his!" I began chewing my nails. I recognized this as a nervous habit.

"You don't even know if it'll heal!" Gamora countered. I sighed. "It will. I'm sure. If it's anything like being half-submerged in sulfuric acid, I'll be just fine." I said disdainfully. "So does this mean you'll do it?" Quill asked, ignoring what I had just said. I hesitated. Did I want to do this? It would be dangerous. If not for me, then for the team. Chances are I'd just be a limitation. A liability. No. They're already doing so much for me. They could've just tossed me out on some random planet and flew away. No, I was doing this for them. "I'll do it. I'll help you guys steal this thing."

"Yes!" Quill exclaimed. "Alright, everyone, you know what your jobs are, get busy." As the team began to plan out their heist, I couldn't help but question whether or not I had made the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A badger in a blender


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had fun writing this chapter, it's got mutilation(?)
> 
> I don't know if you'd call it that, but there's a missing limb for like two seconds.
> 
> Thanks for reading this! Seriously, thanks.

Quill sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried his best to not throttle Drax. "No, Drax, that is not when you come in guns blazing. Let's try this again." Quill said and cleared the command room's screens. "Gamora and I will enter here," He said, pointing to the east side entrance of the building we were going to infiltrate. "Where we will find the main power generator and blow it up. Rocket and Seb will enter from the roof."

He pointed to an air duct on the roof of the building. "You two will enter through the vents and find your way to the room where they're holding the device." I held up a hand. "You don't have to raise your hand, Seb." I awkwardly lowered my hand. "What exactly is this device?" Quill shrugged. "All the guy said was that it was important to his family. Possibly a family heirloom?" Drax held up his hand. "For Christ's sake, Drax, what?"

Drax lowered his hand and spoke. "Do I come in now?" Quill looked as if he were about to burst, much to Rocket's ever-growing amusement. This was evident by him about to burst laughing. Part of me wondered if he put Drax up to it. "No, Drax. You don't come in now. You don't come in at all! This is a stealth mission! You stay on the ship!" Drax pouted in his corner. "Now then! After Seb has the object in question the power should be out by then, which will serve as cover for all of us to escape and regroup at the Benatar."

"Does everyone know what they'll be doing?" A small murmur of agreement came from everyone. "Great, we should be nearing our target soon, so make your last minute preparations." The team broke off and I followed Rocket to his bunk. "How you feelin'? You look nervous as hell." He said, strapping a band of grenades to his belt. "I'm good. I mean, I've never done anything like this. It's okay to be nervous, right?"

Rocket snorted. "Not really. But don't worry, I'll just use you as a shield if all goes bad." I nodded. He rifled through a box and withdrew a small blaster. "Here, should be charged up." He tossed me the blaster. "In case things do go bad. I looked after the gun, noting there was no safety of any kind. I then wondered how I knew that. "Thanks, Rocket." He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, don't get to attached, I'm only lending to you." He grabbed the remainder of his gear and left the bunk.

I entered the cockpit and looked at the planet we were about to land on. It was mainly dense green jungle with a clearing every now and then. The side we were about to land on was deep in the dead of night, which served us well. The Benatar landed forty yards from out target and we decended the ramp. "Stay by your comms, Drax. Things might get hairy." Quill said as Drax closed the ship's ramp. The four of us approached the building with relative caution.

We didn't know how tight security would be, only the building's layout. We went desperate ways as we approached the fence line. "Good luck, you two." Gamora said and we split ways. Rocket and I a walked along the fence line until we came upon a gate. There was only one guard, which Rocket dispatched with a quick and precise knife throw. "Let's go." He said as we entered the property.

We quickly and quietly approached the side of the building and Rocket handed me a small device, about the size of my hand. "Slap that on your back, like this." I mimicked his movements and felt a tight vest-like thing envelope my upper torso. After a quick tutorial from Rocket, we flew to the roof and found the air vent. "Take off the aero-pack." I removed the device and stuffed it in my pocket. Rocket removed the grate and jumped inside.

It was large enough for him to easily slide down but was going to be a squeeze for me. I hopped inside the vent and carefully slid down until I came upon the horizontal sections. "Follow me." Rocket said in a hushed tone. I followed him through the maze of air ducts, thanking whatever God existed that it was large enough for me to move freely. After what seemed like forever, Rocket kicked open a vent and hopped through it.

I too, jumped out the vent and gathered my surroundings. We were in a small room, maybe twenty by thirty feet. Next the the far side of the room stood the containment field. It looked like a small table with a forcefield around it. "Now we just gotta wait for Quill and Gamora." He said. I looked at the small object inside the field. It appeared to be a small seamless black cube, mabye six inches in length. "You ready for this?" Rocket asked.

I shook my head. "No, that's looks like it's gonna be painful as shit." Rocket laughed dryly. "Yeah, glad it's you and not me." I chuckled. Just then, the lights cut out and the emergency lights cut on. Rocket withdrew his larger gun and nodded at me. I took a deep breathe and reached out to the field. As the tips of my fingers touched the field, I winced in pain. Deciding it would be best to hurry, I plunged my arm into the field and grabbed the cube.

The pain I got from this was quite unbearable. It felt as if my skin was decaying and regrowing all at a rapid rate. It was decaying faster, however. It was bleeding and I could see bits of bone in my hand. I let out a loud scream as I tried to remove my hand from the field. Rocket rushed up to me and covered my mouth with his paw. "Shut up! We're gonna get caught!" I cried silently into rockets paw as I attempted to remove my hand from the field.

It appeared to be sucking my arm in. Rocket, sensing the problem jumped from my back and pulled on my free hand, hard. This released me from the containment field and I dropped the cube. "Shit!" I shouted as I examined my hand. My pinky was now practically just bone and I've lost all feeling and control of three of my fingers. "Oh, man, that looks like shit!" Rocket said. "Can we get the hell out of here?! Now?!" Rocket scooped up his gun and hit the door button.

Thankfully, they seemed to run on emergency backup power. Unfortunately, so did all the emergency lights that lined the halls. My arm was still decaying at an alarming rate and I could barely stand the pain. "Come on, Seb!" We ran through the halls until we came face to face with about six armed guards. "Hold it!" One of them shouted. Behind us more guards stomped into the hall. We were surrounded in an open space.

We were fucked. "Don't move!" Another shouted. I eyed the large window next to us and for a brilliant idea. "Do you have the cube?" I asked through gritted teeth. Rocket nodded and I planned my next move. I scooped up Rocket in my chest with my good arm and jumped backwards through the window. I did not realize that we were about ten stories off the ground, and probably broke my spine in three different places as we hit the ground.

As Rocket scrambled to get off of me, I coughed up a rather large amount of blood. "Ah, shit! Come on, Seb, get up!" Rocket shouted as he pulled me up. Thankfully, my spine healed itself and I prepared to run. Chaos was everywhere at once around me. There were alarm klaxons, shouting, gunfire. The run back the Benatar was a blur. Quill and Gamora were already back on board and were yelling at us to hurry. Once we were back aboard the Benatar lifted off the ground and began to fly away.

I was rushed to the medbay where I was laid upon a bed. "It's not healing fast enough!" I vaguely heard Mantis shout. "I know!" Rocket responded. In my pain driven delirium I thought I heard Rocket tell Drax to grab a lazer saw. "Seb! Can you hear me?" I nodded. "Yessir, pretty kitty~" I felt myself slur. "Ooh this hurts," I said as I poked my now pinky-less hand. "Hey, where's my pinky?" It must have fallen off on the run back to the ship.

"Seb, focus! Can you regrow stuff?" I thought a moment. In my pain-driven delirium I spoke without thinking. "Hmm... Yep! I've done it before." He nodded and Drax returned in just that moment. "Here, Rocket." He handed him the saw. "Hold, on. Are you gonna cut off my hand?" Rocket powered on the saw before shutting it off again. "Shit! If we use this it'll castrate the wound." I then stopped listening and began pulling at my exposed flesh. Drax left again and Rocket returned to my side.

"Just hold on, Seb, I've got an idea." I looked at Mantis cowering in the corner and laughed. "Your eyes are funny." Drax returned with Gamora's sword in hand. "Hold on, guys, that's gonna hurt." Rocket grabbed my arm and rolled up my sleeve to show the good skin. Rocket told Drax to cut close to my torso and he held up the sword. I closed my eyes and then the whole world took a sudden lurch to the left. "Ah, fuck!" Rocket shouted.

"Try again!" Drax once again raised the sword and brought it down on my arm. My arm. It now consisted of a short nub, which ended just five inches shy of my shoulder. I saw a little blood spurt out the end before promptly losing consciousness.

I awoke after what felt like a coma and sat up in my bed. The medbay bed. Medbay. My arm. I examined my now fully regrown arm. It appeared just as it had prior to shoving it into satan's asshole. Across the room sat rocket, sleeping on the other med-bed. Without thinking, I tried to wake him. "Psst! Rocket!" He awoke with a thrash, and fell of the bed. He stood with a groan and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

After regaining his composure, he rushed to my bedside. "Seb! You're awake!" I raised an eyebrow at him and he quickly recomposed himself. "I mean, uh, so you're awake. And whole, again." He gestured to my arm. "Yeah, it looked super gross earlier, regrowing and whatnot. It was so funny, Mantis puked like three times!" He said between fits of laughter. His laughter was so contagious, I couldn't help but laugh too.

After our little fit was over I stretched and got up from the bed. "Woah, should you be up?" He asked, not bothering to hide the worry in his voice. I waved him off. "Yep, look, all good." I said as I waved my fingers in front of his face. We then walked to the cockpit. Quill was there, looking bored. "Quill." He whipped his head around to see me. "Seb!" He stood from his seat and grabbed my arm. "How's the arm?"

I moved and flexed my fingers. "All good." His look of relief turned to one of guilt. "Listen, about what happened. I had no idea it'd be like that. I'm sorry, man." He looked really guilty. "It's okay, I'm all good now. Water under the bridge." He still looked unsure. "Really, it's all good, Quill. Where's everyone else?" I asked. "They're getting ready for landing, you slept the entire way to Contraxia. We're going to land soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo we've got the thing! Who knows what it does?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> I apologize if anyone seems OOC, there's no excuse for this, I'm just sloppy in my craft. X(
> 
> Once again, thank's for reading!

We were a few minutes out before we landed on Contraxia, and I decided to pay rocket a visit. I found him in his bunk, unsurprisingly messing with some piece of tech. "Hey, Rocket," I said. He looked up from his tech and gave a small wave. "Oh. Hey, Seb," He said, halfheartedly. "Is everything okay?" I asked. He set down the gadget and scratched his head with a sigh. "I don't know, man."

I sat on his makeshift bed. "What's going on?" I asked. "It's just... Your arm, man." He sounded genuinely upset. "Hey, it's all good now, remember?" I waved my fingers around to show that it was, in fact, all good. "I know that, it's just that it almost wasn't. You almost weren't. And then having your arm cut off like that? It wasn't pretty. I wanted to puke." He looked nervous for a second before speaking again.

"Look, don't tell the others, but that was hard to watch. Sure, I've seen shit like that before, but never on a... Never on someone I wasn't trying to kill." Hearing this made me feel sympathy for Rocket, he probably doesn't open up all that much to the other, and it made me wonder why he was to me. It was probably because I'd be gone soon. Whatever the case, I had to choose my next words carefully.

"I'm really sorry you had to watch something like that, I don't think many people ever truly get used to something like that, so don't hold it against yourself, okay? It doesn't make you any less of a man just because you felt a little unsettled after seeing someone decaying arm get chopped off." He nodded. "You're right. There was just so much blood, and-" He was cut off by Quill cutting in over the P.A.

"Rocket, report to the front of the ship, we're entering the atmosphere." Rocket groaned and hopped off the bed. "Duty calls," He said, leaving the bunk.

We landed on Contraxia and made our way to the bar from before. By then it was well into the night and the whole crew had decided to come. Quill had decided that we all should celebrate another successful mission. We entered the bar and Quill delivered the package to the client. "Is this it?" Garrus asked, opening the bag which contained the black cube. "Yep, it's there." Quill said, popping the 'P'.

"You don't know how happy this makes me. I'll transfer the units immediately." He said giddily. He excused himself to make the transfer. "So what now?" I asked Quill. "I dunno. Drink if you wanna. You are old enough, yeah?" He asked. I shrugged. "Maybe?" He narrowed his eyes, calculating. "Hmm... Yeah, you look about twenty-one. Go nuts." He gestured to the bar. I spotted Rocket drinking what I assumed to be hard liquor out of an odd-looking glass.

Quill nodded at me and I squeezed my way to Rocket. The bar was rather crowded tonight, and I wondered if it was like this every night. I took a seat next to him at the bar and nudged him on the shoulder. "Hey, Kitty-cat." His eyes widened. "You remember that?" I laughed. "Yeah, among other stuff. Like getting my arm chopped off, for instance." He chuckled. "I'm surprised, you were pretty delusional in there. In fact, you sounded drunk as hell!" He said, grinning.

"Which reminds me, I ain't no biologist or whatever, but I have a theory. I want to test whether or not you can get drunk!" I raised a brow. "Really? I think you just want me vulnerable." I said, smirking. He rolled his eyes. "Ah, shuddup, I'm genuinely curious! C'mon, let's do it!" I sighed, but couldn't help but let a smile creep onto my face. "Alright, Rocket. But you're buying." He grinned and pounded on the bar excitedly.

"Alright! Hey, fish-face! Give me some of that there!" He shouted to the bartender, Who appeared to be fish-like in nature. He looked at the bottle Rocket pointed at and raised a brow. "Do you even know what that is?" He asked as if he was speaking to a child. Rocket furrowed his brow. "Yes, blubber-butt, now get the bottle will ya?" The bartender rolled his eyes and slid Rocket the bottle. "Enjoy." He said in a sarcastic voice.

Rocket returned his attention to me. "Alright, now this is something that would lay a normal Terran like you out on the floor just by smell alone, so grab 'hold of somethin'." He poured a generous portion into his empty glass before sliding it to me. I cautiously picked up the glass and took a whiff. Rocket was right, I put a hand on the bar to steady myself. "Oh, fuck..." I felt myself grow very dizzy as I heard Rocket burst out laughing.

"That smells like gasoline!" He doubled over laughing. "Oh, that's just too good! Your face is so pale!" I took a moment to breathe and Rocket finally ceased his laughter long enough to speak again. "Alright, now drink it." I audibly gasped. "You want me to drink that?" I looked at the glass disdainfully. I'd rather die than drink it. "Ah, what's the matter? Scared?" He said in a teasing voice. I grit my teeth. Rocket knew what he was doing. And I was going to indulge him anyway.

"Hardly." I grabbed the glass with newfound confidence and drank it in one gulp. The taste was certainly indescribable. Rocket's eyes widened with disbelief. "Oh, shit!" I suddenly felt very dizzy and thought about puking my guts out. I grabbed the bar for support as I felt myself sway back and forth. Rocket's laughter became soft and distant as I fought for consciousness. After a moment my vision cleared and I could sit upright without gripping the bar.

"Phew, that's better." I violently shook my head as the last of the alcohol cleared itself from my system. Rocket's jaw hung limp in disbelief. "You shouldn't even be able to sit up straight after that." I shrugged. "I guess I can't get drunk." Rocket smirked. "Well, don't get ahead of yourself, 'cause we're not through yet." He then yelled for the bartender. "Aye, get over here!" The bartender returned looking as displeased as ever. "Yes, sir?"

Rocket returned the previous bottle. "Give me the strongest thing you have. And I mean the strongest thing you got, don't mess with me here." Our bartender walked to the other end of the bar and returned with a bottle of a murky green liquid. "I'm legally required to tell you that this is meant for something about ten times your size. That being said, Go nuts." He placed down the bottle and returned to the other end of the bar. I eyed the bottle with uncertainty.

"I don't know Rocket..." He groaned. "Aw, come on, man! Don't be lame!" He held the glass up to my face. I then had an idea. "I will if you have one," I said, hoping he would decline. He laughed. "I'm kind of a pro at this, don't let my small frame fool ya." He reached around the bar for another glass and poured himself the same amount. "Cheers," I said. We touched glasses and we both downed our drinks. "Whoo!" Rocket exclaimed. I, however, felt as if I were about to keel over.

"What the shit." Was all I could get out. It tasted like how I imagine death tastes like. I laid my head down on the bar. Seeing this, Rocket began laughing hysterically. "You look pale as shit!" I did my best to glare at him, though I wasn't sure which Rocket to glare at. "F-Fuck you," I mumbled. My stomach churned and I felt bile rise in my throat. I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself. Again, after a moment I began to feel sobriety.

"Phew, that's better." I shook the last of the fog from my head and belched loudly. "Aw, what? Still nothing?" Rocket asked, sounding very hammered. I guess even being a very experienced drinker has to yield to the fact Rocket was only about three feet tall and probably only weighed around fifty pounds. "Nope, sorry." Rocket groaned drunkenly and reached for the bottle. "Whatever." 

I grabbed it before he could and held it closely. "Hey, what gives?!" He asked as he reached for the bottle. "Nuh-uh, no way. You're already too drunk as it is. I'm cutting you off." His face contorted in anger. "What? You think just 'cause I'm like this I can't drink as much as anyone else?" I blocked his drunken attempts at reclaiming the bottle. "Yes, like it or not you're smaller than most people, and you don't have the capacity for it."

He growled. "Don't treat me like I'm some kind of animal! Not like everyone else!" Hearing this made me feel a bit sympathetic of Rocket. He was probably treated that way most of his life. "I'm sorry but no, you've had plenty. He grumbled and slumped over on the bar, his head resting in his hands. "Whatever, I don't even care." I couldn't help but crack a smile, he sounded like a child who's just been put in a timeout.

"What's so fuckin' funny, huh?" I shook my head. "Nothing, you're just really funny." He scoffed and looked away. Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. He acted all pouty but he could've just called for the bartender. "You know, Rocket, I don't think you're an animal. I just wanna make that clear." He just scoffed in response. After a moment of silence, I attempted to speak. "So... Let's play a game."

He rolled his eyes. "What game?" One came to mind. "Two truths, one lie. Only in this game, the loser takes a drink of water." He huffed yet still turned to face me. "How are you even gonna play?" I shrugged. "I'll think of something." He looked thoughtful for a moment before smirking. "I'll play, but only if you take a drink every time you lose." I raised a brow. "You do realize that stuff does nothing for me, right?"

"Yeah, but it messes you up for a minute, that's enough for me," I considered my options. "Why not?" I said, shrugging. I ordered water as he poured me a glass. As more and more of the glass volume was filled with the murky liquid, I couldn't help but feel as if this was going to be a long night.

An hour or so has passed and we've resorted to making stuff up. In all the time that's passed, Rocket didn't sound any less hammered. "So here goes. One, I'm... Fourteen years old, I've escaped twenty-three maximum security prisons, and three..." He put on a cocky smirk and spoke. "I think you're really friggin' cute." I blinked as I registered what I had just heard. Before I began to question what he had just said, I thought a moment. Rather than freak out and freak him out, I'll play along.

"Oh, really? Hmm... Is it two?" I asked, inching closer to his face. "Mmm... Nope." He leaned closer to me. "How about... Three?" We got even closer. "Nope." Our faces almost touched. "Must be one, then." His nose twitched. "Yep, I'm technically only ten," I smirked. After a second his expression turned to one of horror and fear as if he just realized what he was doing. "I... I gotta go-" he yelped as he clumsily fell off his barstool and onto the floor.

This took me by surprise, and I ended up spilling the bottle of ale on the bar. "Wait! Rocket!" I shouted. He ignored me and made a break for the door. I chased after him, leaving the rest of the crew to drink and party on their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know if any of you find any grammatical or continuity errors!  
> I usually try to weed these out myself, but nobody's perfect!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bienvenido! (I think that's how it's spelled?)
> 
> First of all, Happy Valentine's day! (For those of you who celebrate it~)
> 
> AH!!! I hope what's coming up doesn't appear out of nowhere. I thought it'd be a great thing for Seb and Rocket to bond over >.< (more on that in the actual chapter) It isn't random, it was one of the first ideas I had in relation to this Fic.
> 
> I hope it's not too weird, either. I just think it's cool and it is 100% free to click the X button in the top right corner if it's not your thing~
> 
> As always, Thanks for reading!

I followed Rocket outside only for him to burst into a four-legged sprint. "Wait, Rocket!" He ignored my calls and ran to the Benetar. I sighed and ran towards the ship. Once inside I headed for Rockets bunk. After a moment I had finally got the door unlocked. He was sitting on his cot, facing away from the door. "Hey, Rocket. It's me, Seb," I said. "I knew I should've fixed that lock sooner." He said, his words no longer slurring.

I took a seat next to him on his makeshift bed. "Wanna talk about what you said?" He snorted. "No, I very much do not want to do that, thank you." I nudged him with my elbow. "Hey, don't worry about it, we all say things when we drink." I tried to say. "Well, I meant it! I may be drunk but I meant every word!" I was surprised at his sudden outburst. "But look at me! I'm a freak! I was pulled apart and put together over and over again and now I'm a freak of nature!"

He wouldn't look me in the eyes. Neither of us spoke to one another. I then braced myself for what I was about to tell him. "I'm sorry, I haven't been entirely truthful with you." I rolled up my sleeves, exposing my arms. "You can't really see it in this light, but my skin doesn't really blend well." He squinted at the mismatched skin. "He either made sure I wouldn't ever tan or it might just be a side effect of my condition." He traced a finger along the line where the colors met.

"What is it?" He asked, finally lowering his voice. I grimaced. "It's uh... It's where the two parts meet. The psycho that did this to me decided that only the best body parts will do. I don't know if it's just his sick sense of humor, or if it was required, but yeah, I'm literally a walking mismatched corpse. Immortality wasn't what the doctor was after, it was reanimation." I braced myself, I didn't know how he would react to such a statement. On top of that, he must now also realize he almost kissed a living corpse. Rocket let out a small growl.

"Yeah? So what's your point? 'Oh we both had similar things happen to us and now we're practically soul-mates!'" He practically yelled. His comment hurt, but I elected to ignore it, for his sake. "My point is that you're not a freak, Rocket. If you're a freak then so am I, okay? I'm saying it's not the end of the world." Neither of us said anything for a moment. After what seemed like forever, Rocket let out a small laugh. "So what, you're like Frankenstein?"

I fixed my sleeves. "What the hell is a Frankenstein?" He let out a loud laugh. "It's just a story Quill told me once. I'll tell you later." He sniffled. "Gah! I hate this." He said. I chuckled. "What? Feeling?" He didn't answer. "It's okay, Rocket. You're okay Rocket." I hesitantly placed my hand on his head. He made no objections, so I pressed my luck and began to pet him. After a moment he let out a sigh. His ears made little twitching motions whenever I touched his head.

"You like that?" I asked with a slight laugh. "N-No! I hate it." He said loosely. Very tsundere of you, Rocket. I then wondered what Tsundere meant. "Oh yeah? You're not stopping me." I gave him a little scratch behind his ear. "Mmm." He let out a small groan. I instinctively pulled my hand away, sensing I had done something wrong. "Sorry I-" He interrupted me. "No, you're fine! I... I want you to do that again..." He said the last bit quietly. I smirked and placed my hand on his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear that last part. Could you repeat that?"

This was too much fun. "I, uh, I want you to do that again." He said sheepishly. "Do what? This?" I said as I scratched behind his ears once more. He practically melted into the touch. "Aw, does someone like scratches-" Before I knew what had happened Rocket had me lying on the bed with him sitting on my chest. "I am not some dog!" He said, poking my chest with every word. In another situation, I might've felt fear, but right now all I felt was arousal. "Yes, captain." He smirked.

"I like that. Call me that again." He said. I was much too happy to oblige. "Yes, Captain." He made a low growling noise and ran his hands (paws?) Across my chest. He lowered himself until his snout was inches from my face. I closed my eyes, deciding to let him do whatever he pleased. I did not figure that he would back away entirely. "Ahem. I think we should stop. We're both pretty drunk right now so we're probably not thinking straight."

I neglected to remind him that was virtually impossible for one of us. I sat up and adjusted my shirt. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." I hadn't even realized that he'd been drinking. Still, despite that, I was hoping that maybe something would happen. A kiss at least. Maybe he wasn't even into me. Whatever the case, he was right. He has had a lot to drink and I felt ashamed. He was feeling vulnerable and I almost took advantage of that.

I sat on his cot for a good minute before I realized that I should probably leave after something like that. Social cues were not my greatest at the moment. "Oh, uh... I'm gonna go." He cleared his throat again. "Yep, you just go and do that." His voice was pitched high. On my way to the cargo bay, I ran into Quill rummaging around the provisions. "Hey, Quill. What's up?" He jumped, startled from my sudden appearance. "O-Oh, hey, dude." He said with a nervous laugh.

Something was off. This wasn't the usual cool yet headstrong quill I had come to know. "Quill, you're acting weird. What's wrong?" He looked at the ceiling. Then the floor. Basically anywhere but my eyes. "Nothing, nothing." He really was a bad liar. "How's Rocket?" He asked, pointing in his room's general direction. "How did you know Rocket was on the ship?" I asked as he visibly paled. "I- er, uh... He left with you so I assumed-" I cut him short. "Yeah, you're a bad liar, Quill."

I acted calm on the outside, but I was shaking on the inside. "What all did you see?" Chances are he probably thought that we did something. "I didn't see anything. Not you and Rocket... On Rocket's bed." Shit shit shit. "Quill, I promise nothing happened at all." He nodded and leaned against the wall. "Yeah, okay. I'm sorry for acting weird, it's just that I've never seen Rocket be that close to someone before. Like ever." ...Ever?

He then cleared his throat. "Besides, it's not any of my business who my crewmates... Copulate with." I felt my face grow red. "Jesus, Quill, nothing happened. I swear." He held up his hands in self-defense. "I believe you, I really do. I'm just sayin'." This was not at all how I was expecting tonight to go. I groaned and fell into a nearby chair. "Where's everyone else?" I asked, remembering that they were left unsupervised in an alien bar.

"Still drinking, I assume. I decided to come to check up on you two. Rocket's been known to be pretty violent at times." I let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, not sure what he'd be able to do to me. Instant regeneration, remember?" He nodded. "Oh yeah..." We both sat in silence for a few minutes. "Ahem, well, I'm gonna go." I declared. "Yeah, me too. We ship out at noon tomorrow, be on the ship if you plan on leaving with us." We both left to go to our respective rooms.

That could've gone... smoother. As I settled in for the night, I couldn't help but wonder what could've happened if we had gone a bit further.

I awoke the next morning with a massive headache, courtesy of Contraxian liquor, I assumed. I then realized that wasn't likely and wondered what could've caused it. "Ugh..." I groaned as I pulled myself off of my makeshift cot. Sleeping on the floor wasn't doing wonders for my back.

When I entered the kitchen I saw Rocket digging through the fridge(?). "Stupid Quill and your stupid trash..." He muttered. "Morning Rocket," I said, figuring I might a well try to alleviate some of that awkwardness. Upon hearing my voice he whipped around. "Oh! Uh... Hey, Seb." He closed the cooler. "What's up?" I asked. He shifted awkwardly where he stood. "Just lookin' for food, I guess." He replied. "I uh... I gotta go do something..."

He then left the kitchen without another word. It seems that we won't be over this anytime soon. As I poured myself a cup of coffee (I assumed it was coffee), Quill walked into the room. "Morning." He said, pouring himself a mug. "Morning, Kid." Hearing this made me wonder just how old Quill was. "Kid? You can't be much older than me." He spoke after taking a long sip of his coffee. "I'm only like... 36." I choked on my coffee(??). "36? Jesus, I thought you were in your late twenties."

He really looks younger than he is. He then began to rifle around the kitchen's drawers before emerging with another Xandarian Protein bar. "I thought we restocked?" I asked. He shook his head. "Nope, Shipment won't be in for another few hours. So for now..." He took a bite of his bar. "You want one?" I scrunched my nose in disgust. "No, that's alright. You go ahead." I poured out the remainder of my coffee and left for the cockpit.

Was that what it was called? I really need to ask for the names of some of this stuff. Sitting in the left chair was Rocket. Seeing as no one else was in there, I took it upon myself to fill the vacant chair across from Rocket. "So you're a good pilot?" I asked, wondering how he'd weasel his way out of this one. He nodded. "Yep." He said absently. He was messing with the screen in front of him. Feeling annoyed, I pressed on."How'd you get so good at it, then?"

He sighed. "I was made for it. Literally." He said spitefully. "Oh. Sorry." At least give me something to work with here, Rocket! Feeling as though this conversation was going nowhere, I decided to take my leave. However, as I stood and began to leave, Rocket called out, "Wait, Seb." He let out a loud groan and hopped out of his chair. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm not used to talking with people about... Stuff." I turned around to face the raccoon. "Can we? Talk, I mean." He asked.

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'd like that." He led me to his bunk. The room was looking a bit trashed. At least, Rocket's side was. It was clear he had a bit of a fit last night. I'm not sure how I didn't hear it."Groot give us a minute here, yeah?" Rocket said to Groot, who of course responded with, "I am Groot." Rocket looked at him quizzically. "I don't care, go somewhere else for a minute, this won't take long." That sounded troubling.

Once Groot was gone, Rocket closed the door and turned to face me. "So... How do I do this?" I felt my heartbeat rise. I don't think I'm going to like whatever Rocket had to say to me. "I'm just gonna go out and say it. Whatever you think happened between us last night, it's nothing, got it? I was drunk, You were drunk, it may as well haven't happened." I almost reminded him that I couldn't get drunk, but once again, decided against it.

In fact, I thought, It would probably be best if I just agreed with him. "Yeah, of course," Was all I said, as I couldn't think of anything else to say. He nodded and opened his door. "Great. I'll uh, see you around." He left me alone in his bunk. I almost laughed in spite of myself. Why was I so hurt? What did I honestly expect to happen? He is literally a raccoon. I swallowed the lump in my throat and left Rocket's bunk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another chapter completed. (If you could even call these chapters they are so short-)
> 
> What'd you think? What was good? What could use some work? (I'll cry I swear) And for Christ's sake, What was in that mug? Was it coffee? Was it some sort of alien beverage? Who knows?
> 
> Tune in next time to hear from our two celebrity guests! (You should know who they are, they're in the tags.)
> 
> See you later, skater-boys!! (and girls~)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonsoir, mon frères! Et mon sœurs~ (I took four years of French damn it I'm gonna use it somehow)
> 
> So... This is a bit late.
> 
> My power was out until Saturday and I figured I may as well wait until Monday before posting another chapter. ._.
> 
> But! That gave me time to think and I wrote a bit more in this chapter than usual.
> 
> Just a bit of an announcement, this short story is coming to its rather short end. there'll be maybe three(?) more chapters? I'll figure it out.
> 
> I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you're enjoying reading it. 
> 
> Leave a comment! Tell me your honest opinion! If you hated it, that's fine! Tell me so in the comments below~

The flight to Terra is long and boring. We made no other stops and most of my time was spent in the cargo bay. I felt almost... Hurt about what Rocket said. I attempted to focus on something else but I just came back to what he said.

"We're nearing Terra, everyone," Quill said over the P.A. on our third day of travel. I entered the cockpit to see a massive, green and blue planet filling the ship's front window. "It looks so... Bright," I said absentmindedly. "Yeah, it's alright. I'm from Terra, you know." Quill said. I sat in Rocket's empty chair. "Really?" He nodded. "I was picked up when I was really young," He said. "What, were you abducted?" I asked. "Yep." I stifled a laugh.

Something about this seemed funny to me. "What?" I shook my head. "Nothing." Abducted by aliens. The planet eventually got bigger and bigger until we landed on the surface. We looked to be in some sort of town. Everything looked very wet. And cold. "Where are we?" I asked as Quill, Rocket, and I descended the ship's ramp. "New Asgard, a friend lives here," Quill answered. We waded through the muddy road until we came upon a rather large wood cabin.

Before we even came close to the door, a large man came barreling outside. "Friends!" He shouted. He had long blonde hair, with a beard to match. He was wearing jeans, boots, and a large coat. One thing I noticed was that his eyes were two different colors. "Welcome! It's good to see both of you!" Another thing I noticed, he was loud. His mismatched eyes narrowed on me. "Who is this?"

"Nice to see you too, Thor." Thor? As in the god of thunder? I do remember someone saying they had a friend who was a god. "This is Seb, he's a... Friend. We're helping him run from this crazy guy," Quill answered him. Thor nodded and held out his hand. "Any friend of the Guardians is a friend of mine." As the two of them began catching up, I noticed Rocket was doing his best to focus only on the horizon.

I almost tried to start a conversation, but then remembered that we weren't supposed to talk to one another. "Please say you'll stay for the night?" Thor asked. Hearing this, Rocket then perked up and interjected himself into the conversation. "No, we're leavin' soon." Quill rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to him, we would love to stay." Thor beamed. "Great! I'll make preparations for a feast!" 

"Wait, no, Thor you don't have to-" Thor interrupted him before he could finish. "Nonsense! It's not every day you come to visit, it will be fun!" Rocket groaned. "Come along, I'll show you where you can stow your things for the night," Thor said. "Go ahead, I'm gonna go get everyone else," Quill said, starting towards the ship with a coy smile. It was clear he had not forgotten what had happened the other night and was trying to get us to talk.

It wasn't going to happen, though, Rocket's made it pretty clear that he wanted no part of what I wanted. A small part of me wondered if I had ever liked someone before. Before I died, that is. As Quill vanished from sight Thor cleared his throat and gestured towards the large wooden house. Or cabin. It was unclear what it was. All I knew was that it was large, made of wood, and looked rustic as fuck. "Shall we?" He asked. He led the way inside and into a large foyer.

"We had this built shortly after Thanos... Happened. The new Asgardians felt that this place would truly make it home. So, this marvelous home was built and I was appointed to live here." Thor said, gesturing to the breathtaking craftsmanship. It truly was marvelous. After a quick tour through the home, he brought us to the bedrooms. "And through this hall houses the rest of the bedrooms."

Rocket cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. "Hey, blondie, I don't know if you've noticed, but there are only three rooms here." Thor's welcoming energy diminished slightly. "Yes, about that... We recently had an accident at one of the homes here, a fire, that is. The ones whose house has burnt have taken up shelter here, while their house is being rebuilt. So, now we only have three rooms left. And they are all single beds." 

Rocket threw up his hands in annoyance. "Of course they are! Why wouldn't they be?" Thor's face held a sad look. "I am sorry, rabbit, but-" Thor was interrupted by a low growl from Rocket. "You shut it, Fatty!" He then stomped away. "Is he alright? He's usually so much more playful than that," Thor asked. I tried to answer him but no words came to mind. "Ah, well then. Would you like something to drink?"

"Got any hard liquor?" I asked, only half-joking. "No, not here, I'm afraid. It'd be too tempting for me. There's some at the store down the road if you'd like to go get some." I shook my head. "No, I was just joking. I can't get drunk." He gestured for me to follow him as he walked towards the stairs. He led me to the kitchen where he handed me a cold bottle of water. It was some Norwegian brand I couldn't pronounce.

We stood silently for a moment. "So... If you don't mind me asking, do you not drink? You don't have to answer if you don't want to." He shook his head. "No, I don't drink. Not anymore. I used to, but all it did was distract me from my problems, so I stopped. It was hard, but I'm all good now." I took a long sip from my water. It tasted great. "So, what's your story? Why the weird clothes?" I looked at the long since dirtied white clothes.

"Yeah, first chance I get, I'm getting new clothes." I then proceeded to tell him everything that had happened to me up until that point, obviously omitting my almost-kiss with Rocket. Also the technically dead part. He grew increasingly invested in my story when I got to the part where I had to lose a limb. "So you had to cut it off? And it just grew back? No scars or anything?" He asked as I pulled up my sleeve. "Why's your skin mismatched?"

I quickly fixed my sleeve. "Long story." Quill returned with the rest of the gang sometime later, all carrying a bag of some sort. I assumed Groot's was for Rocket, as he did not wear clothes. After some lengthy reunions, Thor left us to make preparations for the 'feast' later. As most of the crew was exploring the large house, Rocket and I were sitting in the living room, not speaking to one another.

"So... Big house, huh?" I asked Rocket, who was swiping away at some alien tablet he had no doubt stolen. "Yep, sure is." He replied, his voice laced with malice. I grit my teeth. I'd rather have silent treatment Rocket than grouch Rocket. "What's got your tail in a knot?" He said nothing, only sneered and continued messing with the tablet. "Fine then, be a prick," I said with a huff. "You wanna know what's wrong?" He said, throwing down the tablet.

"Don't you get it? There are three rooms. One for Quill and Gamora. One for Mantis and Drax. Now, where do you think that leaves us, huh? The whole point was to stay away from you! Now we gotta share a bed?!" He shouted. I thought I was tough, but hearing that stung a bit. "Jeez, sorry I'm that gross, Rocket. And! If it makes you feel any better, I had already thought of that. I planned on sleeping on the floor, you dick!"

"No! You're not- I didn't-UGH!" He was so frustrated he couldn't get the right words out. "What?" He growled and stomped away. I fell back on the couch, my body limp, my spirit defeated. I just couldn't figure him out. "What's up with him?" A woman I had not met yet asked as she entered the room from the hall that Rocket left in. "I... Don't know." She held out a hand. "Brunhilde. You can call me Valkyrie," She said. I limply took her hand and shook. "Subject 37. You can call me Seb."

She looked me up and down and smiled. "Hey, how are you at cooking?" I shrugged. "I've never done it before. Why?" She pulled me up off the couch. "Because I'm short a cook, you guys got here at twelve, and we've got a lot of food to prepare and just barely enough time to pull it off. You're going to help me." Feeling that anything would be better than wallowing in self-pity, I followed her to the kitchen.

It turns out, all she had me do was help out with small tasks, like cutting vegetables and mixing punch. When I asked if that would be enough, she laughed and remarked that the punch was only for the kids. Still, the entire time we were there she recounted stories of past triumphs, which were interesting, to say the least. I was particularly interested in the pegasus she claimed to have.

After hours had passed we finally had everything laid out on round tables that had been positioned near an outdoor patio. There was an open bar and everything was very rustic. For some reason, it wasn't what I would expect a Norwegian party(?) to look like. By this time, the sky was dark and the area was lit by outdoor string lights, giving the place a nice, warm feel. I, much to my enjoyment, had been given two new sets of clothes from Thor.

When it was time to eat, I sat between Thor and Valkyrie. Joining us at our table was Quill, Gamora, and Rocket. Groot was off playing with his fellow teens, and Mantis and Drax were standing in a corner, not dancing at all, but still seemed to be enjoying each other's company nonetheless.

Most of the meal was spent reminiscing about "The good old days" back when Thor used to travel with the guardians. I wondered why he ever stopped. The evening was filled with laughter and drinking. Lots of drinking, save for thor. "Okay, Seb, what's the story with you? How did you end up with the guardians?" Valkyrie asked. Before I could speak Rocket downed what I assumed was his third pint of mead and slammed his glass down. 

"Blah, blah, blah! All we ever hear about is Seb! Can we please talk about something else for a change?" Rocket asked not too drunkenly. Thankfully, no one pointed out that none of us had have said a word about me since we sat down. "Alright then, Rocket. What do you want to talk about?" I asked. I had just about had it with Rocket's sour attitude. He could be a dick with me -for whatever reason that may be-but I wasn't going to let him put on dampener on everyone else's night.

"I don't care, anything else." He then slammed his glass down on the table again. "Another!" He said in a voice that was probably meant to sound like Thor. Ignoring Rocket's incessant giggling, Valkyrie spoke again. "Right... Well, another time then, Seb." I nodded. "Enough about the past, what have you guys been up to recently? Besides, you know," Thor asked gesturing towards me. Quill was the first to speak. "Nothing too crazy, we just finished a job before heading here." Thor nodded. "Yes, I heard about that one, not one of your finest moments."

Quill shrugged. "That's just how we roll. Make a plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, then improvise." He said as he counted off the steps on each finger and then took a long drink of his mead. "Yes, leave it up to Quill to plan his failures," Gamora said shadily. The table was quiet for a moment. "You know, Thor, this whole thing is wonderful and all but you didn't have to go through all the trouble just for us," Gamora said.

Valkyrie laughed. "Please, we'll use any excuse to have a party these days. It's why we had this whole area built." She said, gesturing to the outside area. People were now standing from their seats and dancing as the music finally picked up. "We've got a lot to celebrate, after all, with the returning of the blipped. We're in much higher spirits now." The table fell silent for a moment and I feared the conversation had gone stale.

"So what's new with Earth?" Quill asked. "Not much, we've been expanding our borders, building more and more. Apparently, there's a situation in America." Quill raised a brow. "What is it?" Thor shrugged. "No idea. It was made very clear that we weren't needed. Which is just fine with us." Valkyrie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, some cowards in black suits told us to fuck off. What were they called? S.W.O.R.D., I think."

I took a long sip of my mead. It was sweet and spicy at the same time. "In any case, there's not much else going on." I zoned out of the conversation by focusing on a couple dancing a few meters away. Despite the music being so upbeat, they were swaying along as if it were slow music. Seeing them, it made me long to be close to someone like that. I involuntary thought of Rocket. He was sarcastic, witty, and even downright rude sometimes.

It was everything I ever wanted in someone. I honestly didn't care that he was a raccoon. Even his distant personality was somewhat appealing, in a challenging sort of way. It made me want to connect with him. It made me want to break through those walls and see Rocket through the mischievous mask he wore around everyone else. While stewing in my thoughts, I hadn't even realized I had been staring at him the entire time.

"What the _hic_ fuck are you looking at...?" He asked with a hiccup. He was clearly very hammered. "How much have you drank?" I asked, genuinely worried for his wellbeing. "I... Don't know." He made a little giggle before falling sideways off of his chair. I sighed and stood from my chair. "I got it," I said as I scooped him up and cradled him in my arms like a baby. A very large, drunk baby. I said a quick goodnight to our hosts before heading towards the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a thought, there just might be a sequel, for anyone interested. It'll take place on earth, in New Jersey~ But that's all I'll say as to not spoil anything if it ends up happening. I've already got some great ideas.
> 
> Also! I know one of them could've just slept on the ship, but this is my story and I'll do as I damn please~
> 
> Thanks for reading! ;p


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like, this is late~
> 
> Sorry 'bout that D:
> 
> It's a bit shorter than usual and ends kinda suddenly but like...
> 
> take it i guess

I carefully draped Rocket over my shoulder as I opened the door to the house. I carried Rocket up the stairs and into our room. Had I looked it over earlier, I would've seen the chaise lounge resting in the corner and would've saved myself the embarrassment of proclaiming to sleep on the floor. I laid Rocket down on the bed and began to look for a blanket to curl up with on the long chair. "Wait!" Rocket exclaimed drunkenly as I backed away from the bed.

"Don't go..." He sounded sad. I sighed and sat next to him on the bed. "Yes, Rocket?" I asked. "Don't leave me. You can sleep here." His words were slurred and he sounded as if he could barely keep conscious. I shrugged and removed my shoes. I made myself comfortable on the bed next to Rocket. After a moment of silence, I heard a quiet grunt. Rocket was attempting to unzip his jumpsuit, but the zipper was caught. I sat up on the bed and moved his hand from his zipper.

"Let me help you, Rocket." His hand fell limply at his side as I reached for the zipper. As I unzipped the jumpsuit I could feel my face flush red. I was suddenly aware of just how awkward this was. Finally, after some careful maneuvering, I managed to free Rocket from his suit. Thankfully, he was wearing underwear underneath. I almost laughed, they were the smallest late I'd ever seen. At least I thought they were.

"Thanks, Seb." Rocket said dreamily as I lay back down next to him."Yeah, no problem." Not a minute after that I began feeling rather hot myself. I don't think he'll mind if I get a bit comfier as well. I work my way out of my clothes, save for my underwear, and threw them on the floor. After a moment of silence, Rocket rolled around on the bed until he was lying face down on my bare chest.

"Uh, Rocket?" He made a shushing sound and began snoring. From the way he was positioned, I could see the metal nodes protruding from between his shoulder blades. I'd have to remember to ask him about them later. As I listened to his quiet snoring I couldn't help but be coaxed into sleeping myself.

The next morning I awoke to find something large and fluffy right in my face. Sometime during the night, Rocket had climbed on top of me. He was laying on his stomach and I could feel what I hoped wasn't vomit pooling from Rockets mouth. "Rocket?" I whispered in his ear. "Hmm?" He said sleepily. "You awake?" He attempted to wipe the drool off of his maw and my chest but only ended up smearing it. "Yeah, I'm awake."

"How're you feeling? You drank a lot yesterday." He sighed heavily. "Like shit." I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "So, uh, Rocket. You're kinda laying on me." I didn't know if he was just too tired to realized or was somehow still buzzed from last night. "Yeah, I know." He replied. "Whatever happened to the Rocket who was revolted at the thought of even sleeping in the same room as me?" He groaned.

"I wasn't revolted at that! It's just..." He huffed and sat up on the bed. "I think that- I really- I like you, dumbass!" He said as he turned his head to avoid eye contact. Hearing this took me by surprise. "You like me? Then why were you acting like such a dick these past few days?!" I asked, hopefully not awakening anyone nearby. "Because you're staying! And I'm leavin'! And it wouldn't work out!"

"You thought that if we were separated it wouldn't suck so bad when you had to leave." He nodded. His fur covered his face but I could tell he was blushing. He clearly wasn't used to telling people how he felt. "That's stupid, dumbass. We could've figured something out. Even if we couldn't, you still should've told me." He just sighed and leaned back against the wooden headboard. I sat up in the bed and scooted closer to him.

"So, you're leaving today." He laughed dryly. "Don't remind me." I nudged him with my elbow. "Well, don't be sad, it's not forever. And we still have today. Let's do something fun." He scoffed. "And just what would we even do, huh?" I shrugged. "No idea. But there's gotta be something around here to do, come on." I gave him a gentle push and threw off the blanket I was under. "Get dressed, we should get going."

He raised a brow but grabbed his crumpled suit nonetheless. "Where?" He asked and I rolled my eyes. "To do stuff, of course! You leave at... The end of the day? That's should give us time to do something." Once fully dressed we left our cozy bedroom and entered the kitchen to find Valkyrie pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Morning, you two." She said with a wink. "Morning?" I asked quizzically. "How'd you sleep?" She asked in a bemused voice.

"Fine. You?" I said cautiously. She was acting rather strange, with a knowing look in her eyes. What she knew, however, remained to be seen. "Oh I slept great, except for this morning, that is. I was awoken by two rather loud individuals having an early spat. Whoever they were were very... Loud and clear with their words." She took a long sip of her coffee. "Oh, man, this stuff was heaven the first time I tried it, Terrans do have their moments." She said with another long sip.

"What's up with you guys and Terrans, anyways?" Rocket laughed. "What isn't wrong with you humies?" I felt my jaw tighten. "I'm a Terran, Rocket." He ceased his laughter. "Oh. Sorry." I waved him off and returned my attention to Valkyrie. "So, what is there to do around here?" She shrugged. "Not a whole lot. We drink, we work, and we've got an amazing sauna." A sauna, huh? My mind was filled with images of a rather small room filled with steam and hot coals. Also towels.

"Hmm, sounds great." At about that time my stomach made a low growling noise. My face flushed red. "Sorry, I didn't eat much last night." She laughed and gestured all around her. "Well, the entire kitchen is stocked, make yourselves at home. I'd be a good host and make you guys something, but... Nah." She readjusted her robe and left the kitchen, coffee in hand. "Well, let's make ourselves at home." 

Whoever I must've been before the whole resurrection business must've been a pretty horrible cook because I ended up ruining almost everything we attempted to make. This wouldn't be so bad if Rocket wasn't as bad as me, if not worse. In the end, we wasted about three batches of pancake batter, an attempt at french toast, and two failed servings of oatmeal. We ended up frying some eggs and only lightly burned the bacon. 

Despite our mishaps, I had a lot of fun cooking with Rocket. Seeing him squirm at every burning pancake or rock hard bowl of oatmeal was really funny. When we finished up our meal and cleaned up our mess we decided to take a walk through New Asgard. It was cold, muddy, and it looked as if it would rain at any moment. It didn't matter though, I enjoyed spending time with Rocket.

We ended up coming across the sauna Valkyrie was talking about. "Wanna go in?" I asked. Rocket shrugged, "Sure? We can't stay long though, fur and all." He rubbed his furry arm. He must get warm easily with all that fur. We went inside and threw our clothes in a locker. I tried my best to avoid staring at him as we undressed. Purely out of curiousness as to what he... Had down there.

Wrapped in towels, we entered the sauna. It was empty at the moment, which was just fine with me. After the guy in the front told us how to make steam, we soon had the entire room full of an almost unbreathable cloud. We sat side by side on the wooden bench, just enjoying each other's presence. The warm steam felt great after a cold morning outside. "So? What do you think?" I asked. Rocket shrugged. "It's alright, nothin' to get all excited about." 

"Okay, then." My mind struck a blank. I had no idea what to say. I closed my eyes and attempted to think of something to say. Rocket then placed his hand on mine, startling me. "Hey," He said smoothly. "Hey?" He then hopped up on the bench, his oversized towel falling with an audible thud. He fell on my lap, straddling me. "What-?" Was all I could say before his lips met mine in a deep and passionate kiss.

I didn't have much to compare it to, but it certainly left me breathless. He then began to grind on my already hardening dick, sending jolts of pleasure through my abdomen. He hummed and flashed a trademark smirk. "Enjoyin' this?" I nodded and kissed him again as he began to pull at my towel. A sudden strike of uncertainty flashed through my mind but was saved by a loud knock coming from the wooden door.

"Shit!" Rocket hissed as he scrambled for his discarded towel. "Hello?" A loud voice that sounded unmistakenly like Thor's boomed from just outside. "Uh-huh, yeah!" I called out to him. He opened the door and entered quickly as to not let out too much steam. "Hey, guys!" He said cheerfully. "I hope I'm not interrupting?" I almost laughed at the irony of the joke. Thor was, in fact, interrupting something. "Nah, we're just relaxing."

I thanked whatever god existed that there was enough steam to hide me trying to hide my awkward boner. Thor sat next to Rocket, draping a large arm over his shoulder. "So! What might you two have been talking about?"

The next twenty-five minutes are filled with nothing but Thor speaking of all his times he's spent in the sauna. After that, Rocket and I said our goodbyes and left the sauna. "So, that was fun," I said as we walked down the muddy streets. Rocket dared not to look me in the eyes. "Y-yeah. Sure." He said. "What's the matter?" He shrugged. "I dunno. I've never... Done anything like that. Not unless it was some quick fuck or somethin'."

"Well, as far as I can remember, I've never done that, like, ever," I said. He scowled at my lame attempt at humor. "I'm serious! So don't write this off as some joke, Seb." He sounded genuinely annoyed. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that I'm really inexperienced in this whole area so I don't really know what I'm doing here." He stopped in the road. "Hey, come here." I stood in front of him and crouched. "Don't fuckin' crouch. I ain't that short."

I blushed and stood up straight. "Listen, I don't know what what's gonna happen between us, so I think we should sit down and talk about things." I nodded. "You're right, we should talk about it." He gave me a confident smile and we walked towards the house.


End file.
